Optical transceivers send and receive data in an optical form over an optical link, such as a fiber-optic link An optical transmitter can include laser driver circuitry to drive a diode, such as a light-emitting diode (LED), to create optical pulses on the fiber-optic link from received electronic signals. An optical receiver can include a photodiode to receive optical signals from the optical link, which are then converted into electronic signals. Thus, an optical transceiver converts (i) optical signals into analog and/or digital electronic signals and (ii) electronic signals into optical signals.
An exemplary optoelectronic device 100 (e.g., an optical transceiver) is shown in FIG. 1. In order for the optoelectronic device 100 to function correctly, a base optical sub-assembly (BOSA) (e.g., a transmitter optical sub-assembly including a laser diode [LD] and/or a receiver optical sub-assembly including a photodiode [PD] 120) is mounted in a transceiver housing 110 such that the LD or PD in the BOSA is properly aligned with an end of the optical fiber in the transceiver housing 110. In general, the photodiode and the optical fiber housing 130 are alignment-sensitive, and improper alignment can result in failure of the electronic or optoelectronic device. In some approaches, the photodiode is attached to or mounted in the transceiver housing 110 with an adhesive (e.g., an ultraviolet [UV]-active glue, such as a UV-active epoxy). However, during the adhesive curing process, the components can move or shift, which may result in misalignment of the photodiode with one or more light-focusing and/or light receiving elements (e.g., one or more lenses and/or mirrors, an optical fiber or other light-carrying medium, etc.) in the transceiver housing 110. In some instances, the misalignment can lead to production output losses when the optical transceiver or device 100 does not meet quality control or performance requirements.